Aishiteru?
by Angel Leviathan
Summary: He's about to learn the real meaning of the word... Follow up to Foreign Ammunition.


Title: Aishiteru?

Author: Angel Leviathan

Spoilers: Anything, everything.

Season: 1

Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis, characters, concept, etc, aren't mine.

Notes: Okay, its nearly 5am and this fic wouldn't let me sleep until it was written. So I apologise in advance for any mistakes. Follow up to 'Foreign Ammunition'.

-

For some reason he had been 'volunteered' to lead one of their technology experts to the correct junction in Atlantis so she could fix the circuitry and restore power to more of the city. John Sheppard was not at all amused to find himself not only playing escort, but flash-light holder and wire grip. As he began the string of curses in his head, he realised there was no way he could ever win a slanging match against Elizabeth, only able to remember one of the words she'd flung at him that morning, "Aishiteru!"

"You _what_ me?" Tsuki Hama stared at John, eyes wide.

"No, no, not you, the circuitry," he shook his head, "…Maybe I should'a checked with Elizabeth just how offensive that word was…"

"Its not offensive…" the dark haired young woman replied, "Unless you're joking or using it to mock somebody."

"Or something…"

"…Not really…" she frowned.

"Wait, wait, wait," John held up a hand, "How do you know this?"

Tsuki blinked and pointed to the flag on her arm, "Er, its _my_ language?"

"…So, Japan, right?"

"Yes."

"How many languages does that woman know?" he muttered under his breath. Shaking his head again, he continued, "Alright, so what _does_ it mean?" he questioned.

"…I…er…" she blushed, "I means 'I love you'."

Sheppard stared, "…It means _what?_"

"'I love you'" Tsuki repeated.

"Aishiteru?"

"Yes. That's what it means. You could say 'daisuki', but that almost literally means 'you're my favourite'…" she grimaced, "Kids use that more often."

"She said she was cursing at me!" he exclaimed.

"Who?" she asked.

John just about managed to stop himself replying with the truth, "…I…er…nobody," he shrugged.

"…Nobody?" she folded her arms across her chest.

"Don't say a word. I have to go talk to somebody. You continue here and I'll send Ford down to guide you back, okay?" he proposed, handing her the flashlight.

"…Sure…Sir…" Tsuki nodded uncertainly as she watched him break into a run and vanish. She shook her head and rolled her eyes, "Baka."

-

He found her at her desk, files heaped in front of her, chewing the end of her pen as she debated what to write, "Hey," John just wandered in, not bothering with the door chime, "Any progress?"

"Not really," Elizabeth replied, not looking up, "except that this pen may be a couple of centimetres shorter by the end of today." Pretending to be totally immersed in her work, she decided to practically ignore him, maybe then he would go away and leave her to her self beating over the head at having proclaimed she loved him; no matter what language it was in. Half the time she dreamt in Russian and woke up speaking German; foreign languages were not something she often employed to work to her own personal agenda. Let alone declare love.

"Hey," John began all too casually, "What was that word for 'damn you' again?"

"What?" she forced herself to continue writing, even if it was a line of gibberish.

"That last word you shouted after me this morning."

"I didn't shout," that much she knew.

"Yeah, but what was it?" he pressed.

Elizabeth still hadn't dared to look up at him. She took in a quick breath before she replied in what she hoped was her 'absent; mind otherwise occupied' voice, "…Aishiteru…"

"I love you too."

She dropped her pen in shock and just stared at him.

"You forget that this is a multi-lingual community," he advanced toward her desk.

Eyes wide, Elizabeth stood and backed away, for once, lost for words, "I…that's not…it doesn't…"

"You have a young Japanese woman on staff by the name of Tsuki Hama. I just thoroughly embarrassed myself by using what I thought was a swear word in her presence. She wanted to know why I had suddenly declared that I was in love with her," John kept walking so she was neatly blocked into a corner. He briefly glanced at the office walls, "You have very see-through walls here…"

"John, don't even-"

"What, you tell a man you love him and then-"

"-_Think_ about it," she finished.

"Well whatever I'm thinking about, you're obviously thinking about too," he countered, "So. Take it back."

"What?"

"Take it back. I'm giving you a 'get out' clause here."

"No," Elizabeth glared at him.

"Well then, I'm afraid I'm going to have to kiss you," John stated.

"Then I'm going to have to slap you."

"Fair enough," he lowered his lips to hers, feeling her hesitate for a moment, before she kissed him with an urgency and desire he certainly hadn't been expecting…and that made him wish the walls weren't so damned see-through. Parting for air, he took a step away from her, waiting for her to hit him. John opened one eye when several seconds had passed and she'd hadn't torn him to pieces.

"…What happened to slapping me?"

"What happened to kissing me?" she shot back.

"You want me to kiss you?"

"You want me to slap you?" Elizabeth stepped forward and kissed him briefly, breaking away quickly, knowing full well that anyone could see what they were up to, "We'll finish this later…" she promised.

"I'll hold you to that," he threatened.

She sat back down behind her desk and grinned broadly at him, "I fully expect you to."

John left the room in a very confused and semi-high state; there was a lot he had yet to learn about Elizabeth Weir…and he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

-

Fin


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